Agent-based simulation Sample Clauses

Agent-based simulation. There are many different types of simulation techniques. The approach we take here is that of “agent-based” simulation, a kind of computer simulation where every actor is represented by a different entity in the simulation, and the interactions between actors are represented by sequences of messages between those entities. This allows for a more detailed, common-sense representation of social phenomena, particularly those with a distributed, dynamic and complex nature (Xxxx, Xxxxxx 2002). This technique has been in existence for several decades now and is being applied to an increasing number of application areas (Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 2013). This has a number of advantages over other techniques for our purposes here, specifically it allows for the representation of the following. • Actor heterogeneity – Instead of having representative agents or even distributions the full diversity of actors can be represented as a set of agents, each with their own properties and behaviours (Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxx, Xxxxxxx 2014). • Social embedding – Socially embedded agents are ones where the particular network of interactions matter: behaviour is neither determined by society nor is it simply determined by an individual’s own interests (Granovetter 1985). One example of this is when the structure of social networks, over which the interaction occurs, is changing. • Complicated dynamics – As with other kinds of simulation, such as cellular automata (Xxxxxxx 2002), agent-based simulation can track the detail of extremely complex sets of interactions and objects. However, agent-based simulation take the degree of detail to another level by allowing the objects that are tracked to have complex internal (i.e., cognitive) processes as well as the interactions between the agents. • Context-dependent behaviour – Whilst many formal techniques have to assume a generic model of behaviour, this is inadequate for modelling human behaviour in many cases because we can have very different behaviour in different kinds of situation (Xxxxxxx 2015). Although such context-dependency is not so common in the field (or at least is left implicit), agent-based simulation has this capability. • A combination of top-down constraint and bottom-up emergence – Whilst much social phenomena result form the (often complex) combination of the actions and beliefs of individuals in a bottom-up fashion, society does also constrain the actions of the individuals as the result of top-down decisions, but also in terms o...